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March 17, 2016

Daniel Corbit lost his wife Eliza Naudain Corbit in 1844 after twelve years of marriage and six children. One of Eliza's quilts, a holding of the Winterthur Museum, Gardens and Library, was the topic of our last post. The timing of this quilt and the verses inscribed upon it signified the end of Eliza's life with Daniel. He now faced a new life with his cousin, Mary Corbit Wilson, who became his wife three years later.

and Library. Photograph courtesy of the Winterthur Museum, Gardens and Library,

Winterthur, Delaware.

Daniel Corbit was born on October 2, 1796 to William Corbit (1746-1818) and Mary Cowgill (1761-1845), a couple who had been married in Duck Creek Monthly Meeting, Kent, Delaware, on May 20, 1791. Daniel's father owned a tannery at Cantwell's Bridge (a town renamed Odessa in 1855) and also built what is now known as the Corbit-Sharp house at Main and Second Streets in Odessa. The house was built during the period 1772-1774 and it remained in the family until 1938 when it was purchased by Rodney Sharp and restored. Daniel Corbit was raised in this house and became its owner after his father's death.

Corbit-Sharp House, Odessa, Delaware. Source of image: Wikipedia.

Daniel was fifty years old when, in 1847, he married thirty-six year old Mary Corbit Wilson (1811-1880), a cousin and neighbor, and brought her to this house as his wife. A letter to Daniel from Mary dated 8th mo 8th, 1846, expresses her pleasure and reservations about his proposal that she become his wife, voicing concerns that she might be unable to replace his former wife in both his heart and home. In this letter, Mary also mentions the schism that occurred in the Quaker community in 1827 that split the Religious Society of Friends into two factions, the Orthodox and the Hicksite. Daniel was an Orthodox members affiliated with Philadelphia Quakers while Mary and her family appear to have become Hicksites. (See letter citation below.) This turned out not to be an impediment to their marriage as Mary indicated in her letter that she was flexible on the issue.

Daniel eventually took over his father's tannery but, when sources of bark became difficult to obtain, he abandoned the business and turned his full attention to farming. He took up the peach business when farmers along the Delaware-Chesapeake Canal gave it up and developed orchards that produced plentiful fruit and a sizable income.

Peach orchard. Source of image: publicdomainpictures.net.

The peach orchards along with his other farming activities, his financial lending at legal interest rates, time as a member of the state Legislature and member of the Constitutional Convention of 1852, and his position as a Director of the Bank of Smyrna combined to make Daniel a wealthy and much-respected citizen of Delaware. As such, he was asked to run for gubernatorial office but turned down the opportunity because, if elected, he'd have to serve as commander in chief for the state. His Quaker faith and anti-war beliefs prevented him from doing this. His faith, however, did not prevent him and Mary from waging an on-going battle to liberate those held as slaves in Delaware and elsewhere.

Odessa's central location gave it a pivotal role in the movement of blacks fleeing the south through Delaware on one of the routes of the Underground Railroad. This route passed through or near the towns of Camden, Dover, Blackbird, Middletown, Odessa, and New Castle, all of which provided "stations" on the railroad where escaping slaves could be briefly housed before being passed on to railroad "conductors" who transported them to the next station north or showed them the way to proceed on their own.

The Underground Railroad by Charles T. Webber, 1893. Source of image:

Wikimedia Commons.

Daniel and Mary Corbit's house was one of the "stations" in Odessa that assisted slaves moving north. Mary Corbit Warner, the daughter of Daniel and Mary Wilson Corbit, speaking at a gathering of the Delaware Chapter of the Colonial Dames of America in 1914, recounted an incident in which her mother received a slave named Sam at the backdoor of the Corbit-Sharp house. He was fleeing from a sheriff's posse and sought her help. Daniel was away at the time but Mary took Sam in and hid him in a tiny attic closet with a miniscule door. When the sheriff and two others knocked at Mary's door, she let them in and gave them permission to search the house. Although they saw the small closet door in the attic, they remarked that it was too small for a man to pass through so did not explore it. They eventually left the house without discovering Sam. When they were gone, Mary was said to have taken Sam a quilt and some food so that he could be as comfortable as possible until nightfall when it would be safe for him to move on. Sam safely made it to Pennsylvania and wrote to Mary from there thanking her for her help.

Stairwayin the Corbit-Sharp house leading to the upper floor

and the attic. Source of image: Library of Congress, Prints

and Photographs Online Catalog.

Another Corbit property, Clearfield Farm, also served as a "station" on the Underground Railroad. The farm was originally owned by Captain David Clark whose daughter, Mary, married Daniel Corbit's half-brother, Pennell Corbit. Both Pennell and Mary died early, leaving two young daughters behind. Daniel became their guardian and inherited from David Clark their property at Clearfield Farm. The farm was one of the Smyrna "stations" on the Underground Railroad located in Blackbird Hundred. A description of Clearfield Farm notes that it had a number of places for hiding fugitives. These included an attic crawl space, space behind a false fireplace, and two hidden inner rooms without doors that could be entered through sliding wooden wall panels.

One more building that served as a "station" on the Underground Railroad was the Appoquinimink Friends Meeting House in Odessa. This tiny brick building was built in 1785 by Mary Wilson Corbit's parents, David and Mary Corbit Wilson. When Harriet Tubman, the famous female operator on the Underground Railroad, was interviewed for her 1800 biography, author Earl Conrad quoted her as saying that, on some occasions, she had hidden in the Appoquinimink Meeting House. The meeting house has a second-story removable panel that leads to spaces under the eaves. It originally also had a cellar with a ground level doorway.

Appoquinimink Friends Meeting House (1785) taken in 1938 prior to restoration.

Source of image: Wikimedia Commons.

Harriet Tubman, circa 1885. National Portrait

Gallery. Source of image: Wikimedia Commons.

Daniel and Mary Wilson Corbit were not the only abolitionists in and around Odessa, Delaware, who assisted fugitives fleeing to the north. They were members of a group of dedicated men and women, including John Hunn, a member of the Appoquinimink Meeting, who did just that at a time when the Fugitive Slave Act of 1850 made it a dangerous business. John Hunn, for example, was turned in to the authorities for assisting slaves and had to pay a penalty which cost him his farm and his livelihood.

Daniel Corbit passed away in 1877 in Odessa at the age of eighty years. His wife Mary Wilson Corbit followed three year later in 1880.

Sources:

Ancestry.com Public Member Family Trees, census records and Quaker meeting records.

Ann Hanna Hambleton

Ann was the mother-in-law of Philena Cooper Hambleton, the subject of Philena's Friendship Quilt: A Quaker Farewell to Ohio, and the great-aunt of Senator Marcus Hanna of Ohio.

American Quilt Study Group

Do you know about the American Quilt Study Group (AQSG)? If not, you should. The purpose of this non-profit organization is to establish, sustain, and promote the highest standards for quilt related studies, to encourage these studies, and to provide opportunities to disseminate the work of both academic and non-academic researchers. Membership in the AQSG entitles one to receive Uncoverings, an annual journal of the research papers presented at AQSG's yearly Seminar, and a quarterly publication titled Blanket Statements containing research papers, notes and queries, as well as AQSG and quilt world news. In addition, an annual directory is provided that lists the names, contact information, and interests of current AQSG members--a valuable networking resource that gives access to approximately 950 fellow quilt enthusiasts. Click on the quilt block above to visit AQSG's web site and learn how to become a member. The site also provides information about the organization's annual Seminar, its publication opportunities, its Quilt Study program, and the Technical Guides and other publications available to members and the general public. AQSG is also on facebook at http://www.facebook.com/pages/American-Quilt-Study-Group/149056808116.

Quaker Quilts: Snapshots from an Exhibition

This pamphlet by Mary Holton Robare contains photographic and informational snapshots of quilts that were displayed in a three-day exhibit of Quaker Quilts held at Abram's Delight Museum in Winchester, Virginia, in 2014. The exhibit featured twenty-six quilts made between ca. 1840 and 2007. Click on the image to learn more about it.

Quilts and Quaker Heritage

Mary Holton Robare's book on selected quilts from an exhibition at the Virginia Quilt Museum in 2008. Click on the book to order and search by title.

Philena's Friendship Quilt: A Quaker Farewell to Ohio

In this 4th publication of the Ohio Quilt Series published by Ohio University Press, Lynda Salter Chenoweth presents the story of Philena Cooper Hambleton and the quilt made for her in Ohio in 1853 to take with her when she migrated to Iowa. To order, click on the book and then search by title.

Neighbors and Friends: Quakers in Community

Lynda Salter Chenoweth's second book based on her research into Philena's quilt tells the stories of those whose names appear on the quilt and places their lives in context. To order, click on the book and then search by title.

When This You See Remember Me

Also of interest by Mary Holton Robare. Schoolgirl Samplers of Winchester and Frederick County, Virginia. To order, click on the book, click "Store", then "Softcover Books" and search on title.

Followers

Copyright

(c) 2011-2017 Lynda Salter Chenoweth and Mary Holton Robare. Absolutely no reproduction or distribution permitted beyond one copy for personal study. For additional permissions regarding text please e-mail lchen@saber.net. All images are reproduced with permission of copyright holders. Any commercial or online use is strictly forbidden.

Lynda Salter Chenoweth

Mary Holton Robare

About Us

Lynda and Mary are quilt historians experienced in researching and publishing information about quilts made by members of the Religious Society of Friends. Their particular interest is in 19th century inscribed quilts that document Quaker families and their communities.
Lynda lives in Sonoma,California, and is a writer, a quilter, a researcher, and a member of the Board of the American Quilt Study Group. Mary lives in Winchester, Virginia, and is a writer, a researcher, and a choreographer and dance instructor.